Helmet Thefts: Safety Gear Not So Safe In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Do you leave your helmet on the two-wheeler at parking places? If yes, be cautious next time.

Helmets left in the open are missing from the vehicle when the owner returns from work. A sharp rise in such incidents has come to light after the imposition of stringent punishment for helmet-less riders as well as pillions from January.

Such rampant is the theft that around 20 helmets are stolen daily from busy areas in the city while 900 such cases have come to the fore in Bhubaneswar in the last month-and-a-half.

Helmet robbers are highly active near banks, hospitals, courts and shopping areas where people leave their protective head-gear on the vehicle in a hurry.

However, no complaints have been lodged as people consider it a petty case and also cannot describe the uniqueness as thousands of people helmets of the same brand and colour.

The helmets stolen are resold, after minor makeovers, at second-hand kiosks along the roads of the city.

The helmet thefts along with rising fuel prices have surely burdened the common man. One person will have to shell out at least Rs 500 for an ISI marked helmet.

As per the Motor Vehicle Act, helmetless riders attract a fine of Rs 1,000 and suspension of driving licence for three months.

According to Section 129 of amended Motor Vehicles Act 2019, every person, above the age of 4, driving or riding or being carried on a motorcycle of any class or description needs to wear protective headgear or helmet conforming to such standards as may be prescribed by the Central government.